Snow remover



May l2, W352i., A. E. WEBB LSAZ SNOW REMOVER Filed Jan. 9, 1928 6 sheets-sheet 1 HHH A. B. WEBB SNOW REMOVER May 29 WSL Filed Jan. 9, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 May lig, @3L wg@ Q-@glt SNOW REEOVER Filed Jan. 9, 1928 6 Sheets-Shee' 5 SNOW REMOVER 6 Shea May 12, 1931.d A, B, WEBB 1,805,121

SNOW REMOVER Filed Jan. 9, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 A. B. WEBB SNOW REMOVER May 12, 1931.

Filed Jan. 9. 1928 6 SheetsSheet 6 56 y W 772mm;

Fatented Moy 12, 1931 narran stares l earner ori-uca ARTHUR E. WEBB, F ,ML'WKEFg WISCONSIN, ASSGNQR ATO THE BIGHTWAY COR- POBTEN, CORPGRATION 0F NDAIIA snow nniuovna Application filed January 9, 192B.

that they operate very ineiiciently over the.

main stretches of highway on which the snow is not deep. Furthermore, they are unable to iorce their way through exceptionally deep drifts. The result is that a number of machines must he employed to do the work that could he accomplished hy a single mag@ chine it it could travel at a comparatively high speed over the main stretches of highway and could also eectively cut its way through drifts.

The object or" the present invention is to as produce a simple and novel machine that will operate efficiently at all times to clear away lsnow'regardless ci its depth or the variations in depth along a highway. I

- A further object of the present invention a@ is to produce a simple and novel machine that will make it possible quickly and eiliciently to clear the snow from a highway and then, it desired, to scatter the banked snow at the sides so as to revent it from drifting hack upon the road d.

A. :further object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel machine in which the entire power available for moving the machine ahead as well as tor collecting and removing the snow may at will be utilized solely for snow collection and removal without diversion of power for the purpose of moving the machine ahead.

Another object et the present invention is toroduce a simple and novelmachine for col ecting snow and loading it upon trucks or other vehicles in cities or other places where it is not practicable to scatter the snow that is removed.

" ec 'lhe various features ot noveltj. whereby Serial lilo. 245,836.

my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of an apparatus arranged in accordance with the present invention and associated with a snow plow attached to the front end of a tractor or the like; Fig. 2 is a top plan view ot' the apparatus; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on an enlarged scale through the vertical supporting post or pedestal for the rotary snow remover; Fig. Llis a section taken approximately on line 4-41 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a section taken approximately on line 5 5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a section taken approximately on line 6--6 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a secto tion on a still larger scale, taken approximately on line 7-7 of Fig. 4; Figs. 8, 9 and l() are respective views of the elements of g the reversing mechanism; Fig. 11 is a per- Spective-view of the snap action actuator for the reversing mechanism; Fig. 12 is a top plan view ofthe apparatus, having a loading conveyor attached thereto; and Fig. 13 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in section, showing the apparatuses it appears in Fig. 12.

My invention may take a great many different forms and, depending upon the aspect in which it is viewed, it may contain any "desired number of the novel features e5 constituting the invention in its most highly developed form.. For the sake of brevity, l have illustrated in the drawings only a single preferred embodiment of my invention, including a loading attachment; and the detailed description will be confined to this particular embodiment as the latter will serv-e to explain the various novel principles and uses. Since a snow remover must be caused to travel in some manner, l shall refer to movable supporting means as a vehicle, whether it be a plow mounted for self support, a truck or tractor, or any other suitable means.

Referring to the first eleven gures oir the 300 ecv drawings, 1 represents a V-typesnow plow mounted, on aY suitable extension on the front end of a power driven vehicle 2. In advance of the plow is mounted a rotar mover consistingT of a series of radial troughshaped buckets 3 fixedto a central horizon-` against the plow and the front end of the machine; some of the snow probably being thrown down on the road in advance of the plow. I propose to rid the road entirely of the snow collected by the rotary remover and therefore associate with the latter a guide or deector that will cause the snow to leave the wheel at a. predetermined point,

Vwhereby the direction of flow of the discharged snow is controlled. Consequently, the snow does not leave the wheel at every `point where the centrifugal force happens to be great enough, but it must travel along with the wheel until the selected discharge point is reached and the direction of escape thereby determined. The deiiector or guide is shown as taking the form of a hood 5 arranged underneath and behind the wheel. The upper end of the hood, at the rear of the wheel, is preferably in the form of or joined to a conduit 6. The conduit extends upwardly and terminates at its upper end in a swiveled spout 7 in the form of an elbow whose discharge end may be turned to cause the snow to be discharged with the wind. Assuming that the bladed wheel rotates in the counterclockwise direction in Fig. l while moving into a mass of snow, it will be seen that the spoke-like buckets 3 become filled with snow which is thrown out of the buckets by centrifugal force into and through the conduit and the discharge spout. The wheel must of course be revolved rapidly in order that the snow may be thrown up through the spout by centrifugal force. The result is that buckets strike the snow sharply and cause the snow to be packed in the same. In other words, the snow will be compacted as it is collected. The lrotary remover or collector, with its hood or housing, is carried on a boom consisting conveniently of two parallel long pipes 8, 8 of considerable diameter having adjustably mounted on their outer ends bearings 9 for the ends of the shaft or axle 4. The hood or housing may be supported from the shaft 4 and be connected to the boom by means of braces 10. Therefore, by swinging the boom, the entire snow collecting and discharging apparatus will move bodily with it. The inner or rear end of the boom is pivotally supported on a vertical pedestal 12, so'as to be capable of swinging in the vertical direction. The edestal is mounted so that it may rotate a out a vertical axis, thus permitting the boom to swing from side to side. In other words, the snow collecting and removing means may be Inived bodily up and down and from side to s1 e.

The pedestal is mounted on a suitable base 13 fixed to the front end of' the vehicle. As best shown in Figs. 3 and 6, the pedestal is made hollow andhas a tubular lower end 14 surrounding and rotatable about a post 15 rising from the b 4se 13. The support for the inner end of the boom consists of two hollow trunnions 16, 16 projecting from opposite ,sides of the pedestal at about the middle of the latter. There is atransverse horizontal shaft 17 extending through the pedestal and coaxial with the trunnions. This shaft has on one end a sprocket wheel 18 over which runs a sprocket chain 19 that in turn passes over a sprocket wheel 20 on the rotary snow collector shaft 4, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 2. The shaft 17 has thereon a bevel gear 22 meshing with a pinion 23 on the upper end of a vertical shaft 24 extending up into the pedestal from the base 13. The shaft 24 is driven through gears 25 and 26 from a horizontal driving shaft 27 axially aligned with the propeller shaft 28 of the power vehicle and adapted to be driven therefrom as will hereinafter be explained. It will be seen that when the vertical shaft 24 is rotated it causes the rotary snow remover or collector to rotate. The boom is caused to swing from side to side through the turning of the pedestal. In the arrangement shown, I have provided mechanism for automatically oscillating the pedestal so as to cause the boom to swing back and forth from one side to the other. To this end there is arranged in the upperpart of the pedestal a vertical shaft 29 driven from the horizontal shaft 17 through cooperating bevel gears 30. The upper end of the shaft 29 extends into a housing 32 fixed on the upper end of the pedestal and containing the reversing mechanism for causing the automatic oscillation of the boom. The details of this mechanism, except the tripping means, are best shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Referring to these figures, it will be seen there are in the housing 32 two parallel horizontal shafts 33 and 34. The shaft 33 has fixed thereon a bevel gear 35 meshing with a pinion 36 on the upper end of the shaft 29. There are also two spur pinions 37 and 38 fixed to the shaft'33 at some distance apart. The pinion 37 meshes with a gear wheel 39 loose on the shaft 34; whereas the pinion 38 meshes with a wide pinion 40 that in turn meshes with a gear wheel 42 similar to the wheel 39 and also loose on the shaft 34. Between the wheels 39and 42 is the/movable element 43 of a double clutch; this member being splined to .any rotation of the shaft 34, since the gears 39 and 42 will revolveupon the shaft 34. However, if the movable clutch element is shifted toward the right, the shaft 34 will be driven in one vdirection through the gear 39, whereas if the movable clutch element is shifted toward the left, the shaft 34 will be driven in the opposite directionthrough the.

gear 42. v y

0n oneend of the shaft34 isa bevel pinion 46 meshing with a bevel gear 47 on the upper end of a short vertical shaft 48 extending down through the 'bottom of the housing 32. 0n the lower end of the shaft 48 is a pinion 49 meshing with a segmental rack 50 carried by a stationary part of the supporting frame 52 rising from or connected to the rear end of the base 13. lt will therefore be seen that when the shaft 34 is rotated, it causes the short vertical shaft'48 to rotate, at a slower speed. However, in rotating,` the pinion 49 on the shaft 48 must run along the segmental rack, therefore swinging the housing and the pedestal to which it is connected. The direction of this swinging movement depends upon the direction of rotation of the shaft 34, so that if the direction of -rotation of this shaft. is reversed at predetermined points, there will be a continuous oscillatory movement of the boom from side to side. The 'automatic reversal of the direction of rotation of the shaft 34 is brought about by automatically shiftingthe movable clutch element 43. rThis is accomplished by means of a shifter fixed to a shaft 53 extending through the housing 32 at right yangles to and above the shafts 33 and 34. -neend of this shaft extends into and through a small casing 54 secured to one side of the housing 33. 0n the end of the shaft 53, beyond the casing, is fixed a radial arm 55 the path of movement of whose lower end is crossed bytwo stops 56 and 57 placed at the ends of the segmental rack 50. Whenever the arm strikes one of the stops, a further continued movement Vof the swinging structure as a whole, causes this arm to swing so as to turn the shaft 53. Whenthe arm strikes one of the stops, it causes ythe shaft 53 to turn in one dlrection and, when it strikes the other stop, the shaft 'is caused to turn in the other direction; .thus throwing 'the clutch first into-one working position and then into the other working position. In other to insure positive action inthe shifting of the clutch, I have provided the features best shown in Figures 7 to 11.

The shaft 53 is made in two sections 53 and 53a. The clutch shifting fingers 58 are fixed to the section 53a, whereas the arm 55 is fixed to the section 53. Fixed to the section 53 is a plate 59 whereas on the section 53a of the shaft is secured what may be termed a clutch tripping anvil 60 provided withl two arms 62 and 63 arranged at an' angle to each other and projecting toward the same side of the shaft. 0n thatedge of the plate 59 lying on the same side of the shaft at the free ends of the arms 62 and 63 are lugs 64 and 65 spaced apart an an ular distance with respect to the axis of the s aft,

vless than the angular distance between the arms 62 and 63. Mounted in the Casin 54, parallel with the shaft 53 is a rock sha 66 through which extend radially two loose rods 67, 67 connected at their outer ends by a transverse bar or hammer 68.A Between the member 68 and the shaft 66 are springs 69, 69 each of which preferably surrounds one of the rods. The parts are so disposed and proportioned that the ba/r or hammer 68 engages with the edge of the plate 59 in the space between the lugs 64 and 65 and extends into the space between the arms 62 and v63 of the tripping anvil 60. rlhesprings are always under compression, so that 4they tend constantly to force the bar or anvil 68 away from the rocking support for the same.

ln Figure 7 the parts are shown in the positions which they occupy when the clutch is in one of its working positions, namely the bar or hammer is in engagement with the lug 64 and the arm 62. The boom, assuming that power is being applied to drive the apparatus, will now swing until the tripping arm 55 engages the stop toward which it is moving. When this occurs, the arm and the shaft section 53 will begin to turn, causing the plate 59 to swing in the clockwise direc complete the swinging movement of the plate.

59 and therefore the shaft section 53. lt will be seen that the shaft section` 53a remains stationary while the section 53 and the plate 59 are being swung by means of the tripping arm 55. However, when the hammer snapsl downward, after having passed center, it strikes both the lug 65 and the arm 63, so as to swing the 'arm 63 and therefore the shaft section 53a in a clutch shifting direc tion. In other words, when the boom approaches one end of its lateral swinging movement, it sets into motion mechanism that will snap the clutch into its opposite working position and thus cause the return movement of the boom.

There is an arm 70 fixed to the outer end of the shaft section 53a whereby the clutch may be manually operated. A rod 72, as shown in Fig. l, may extend from the arm 70 to a point within reach of the driver of the Inachine.

The vertical movements oit the boom are produced by a suitable air hoist which, as shown in Fig. l, comprises a cylinder 73 hung from its upper end from an arm 7d lined to the housing 32, and a piston having the lower end of its rod 'i l pivoted to a suitable bracket 75 on the boom, as indicated at 76. The weight of the boom and the parts supported thereby may be wholly or partially Y counterbalanced by springs 77, 77 or other suitable means. .dir hoists of this kind are well known, hoists that will raise and lower and lock in any position being-a common product of commerce, and need therefore not be described in detail. rllhe pipes or tubes of which the boom is made may serve as reservoirs for air to operate'the hoist; air passing from the reservoir to the hoist through a connection 78 in which there is a suita le valve 7 9 controlled by a rod 80 extending to a point within reach of the driver.

Air may be supplied to the reservoir, as best shown in Fig. 3, from a compressor 82 driven from the main shaft 28 through a sprocket chain drive 88 or otherwise. llhere may be in this drive connection ka suitable clutch controlled by a handle 64;, to shut oft the compressor when not required. The air is delivered from the compressor through a flexible pipe 85 that divides into two branches 86 and 87, each leading to one or" the pipes constituting the boom.

Between the main shaft 28 and the shaft 27 that drives the vertical shafts extending through the pedestal, there is a suitable clutch 88 controlled by a rod 89 (see Fig. 2) that actuates a clutch shifter 90.

The particular embodiment oit my inven tion heretofore described can be operated in a variety of ways. lt will be seen that the rotary removing device has cutting edges on the riphery and on both sides. Consequently, 1f it is pushed strai ht ahead into the snow, snow will enter at the periphery and at both sides. When it is swung sidewise, the

effective cutting edges will be on the side thatv is in advance, as well as at the periphery. In other words, the removing device may be said to have inlets at the periphery and at the sides, the inlets at the periphery being the open ends of the buckets and the inlets at the sides being the spaces between the buckets. If the snow be somewhat dee er than the pflow can conveniently handle, t e boom may placed and allowed to remain in a position pointing straight ahead of the plow, with the rotary snow remover positioned at any desired height above the surface of the road. Then, when the machine is run ahead, the rotar device willcut a path down the center, while the low clears away only the strips of snow leit along the sides. ln cases where the plow will successfully remove the ordinary lay of snow, the boom is swung up out of the way until a deep drift is reached. lvlith the machine standing still, the boom is then caused to swing back and forth :trom side to side, cutting out of the face oi? the drift a swath as wide as the de th of the rotary element. If the drift be iigh, the boom may iirst he swung up so as to make a out across the top, and then it is lowered so as to clear away the lower snow. During this time the entire energy of the power plant of the power driven vehicle may be utilized solely tor the purpose of operating the snow collecting or removing means, so that there is no danger of stalling the machine. After the snow has been removed from the roadway and banked at the sides, the boom may be swung around until it stands crosswise of the road. rlhen, when the machine is run along the road, the rotaryremover will cut down the bank on one side and scatter the snow so as to prevent it Jfrom drifting back upon the roadway. rlhe machine may then be operated in a direction to cause the bank on the other side to be cut down. At all times, the discharge outlet of the hood or housing associated with the rotary collector may be pointed in such direction that the snow discharge there-from will be travelling with the wind and will therefore be broadcast more or .less instead of being piled up directly beside the road.

By providing the machine with a simple conveyor attachment, the snow that is collected may be deposited upon a conveyor and carried to trucks or other vehicles driven alongside the machine. Such an arrangement is shown in Figs. 12 and 13, in which there is an endless conveyor 92 mounted on suitable stationary supports 93 above the housing 32 and the arm 7iand suitably driven as, for example by a sprocket chain 94e passing around a sprocket wheel on the main shaft 28. Theconveyor extends transversely of the machine so that it will discharge at one w side of the machine snow deposited on the same. Associated with the conveyor is a shield or baie 95 extending upwardly and forwardl from the vicinity of the edge farthest romvthe discharge spout. By pointing the spout so that it will be directed to- Ward the baiiie, snow that is collected will be forcibly driven against the baiiie and from there will drop down upon the conveyor. In driving the snow against the baille it is compacted and therefore, when discharged by the conveyor fnto a truck or the like it is no longer in the form of iuy snow but con sists of a comparatively dense mass. A machine -of this kind is useful on city streets,l

either to collect the snow in vehicles as it is -being removed from an portion of the street,

or to clean up banks o snow that have been formed by plows or other means. If the mauses of my improved machine or of its various features used individually or collectively, as there are many uses. that are selfevident or that will occur to anyone having a full understanding of the machine. Therefore, while I have illustrated and described only a single preferred form of machine embo y ing all of the various features of my invention, and have explained only a few uses, I do not desire to be limited by 'this particular description and explanation; but

'intend to cover all forms and arrangements,

used in whatsoever way, coming within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims; and I desire to have it understood that the word vehicle is used in the claims to indicate anything that may be moved along and, in some instances, mlght be a V-type or other plow.

I claim l. 'Ihacombination with a snow low, of

Y a rotary snow remover narrower t an the plow mounted to project in advance of the latter to form a narrow path in the snow in advance of the plow, and means for rotating said remove 2. The combination with a snow plow, of

a rotary snow remover narrower than the plow mounted to project in advance of the latter to forma narrow path in the snow in advance of the plow, means for rotating the remover, and means. for shifting said re-v mover bodily into an idle osition.

3. 'Ihe combination wit a vehicle, ot a boom projecting from the vehicle and mounted so as to be capable of Swingin and la rotary snow remover mounted cn t e outer end of the boom with its axis otn rotation lying transversely of the boom, said remover comprising radial trough-shaped buckets having 'snow receiving inlets on both sides of the boom, and a deector l 'ng near the periphery of the remover to etermine the direction of flow of the snow as it leaves the V remover.

4. The combination with a vehicle, of a boom projecting from the vehicle and mounted so as to be capable of swinging vertically and horizontally, a rotary snow removing device mounted on the outer end of the boom, and means associated with the snow remover for causing the snow discharged from the latter to travel in any desired direction relatively tothe axis of rotation of the remover. 5. The combination with a vehicle, of a boom projecting from the vehicle and mounted so as to be capable of swinging vertically and horizontally, a rotary snow remover device mounted on the outer end of the boom, said remover having snow receiving inlets on sides and the end of the boom, and means associated with the snow remover for directing the flow of snow discharged from the latter.

6. The combination with a vehicle, of a remover mounted to project beyond the same and comprising a wheel having troughshaped radial snow separating elements and means at the periphery of the wheel for receiving the snow discharged from the wheei, means for rotating the w eel, and means for moving theremover bodily relatively to and transversely of the vehicle.

7 The combination with a vehicle, of a remover mounted te project beyondthe same and comprising a wheel having troughshaped radial snow separating-elements and means for receiving the snow discharged at the periphery of the wheel, means for rotating the wheel, and means for automatically moving the removerl back and forth across the vehicle.

8. In combination, a vehicle, a swinging boom mounted on the vehicle and projecting beyond the same, a snow remover on the outer end of the boom, a conve or on the vehicle adjacent to the pivotal axis of the boom, and a discharge conduit for snow extending from the remover to the conveyor and terminating near said axis. I

9. The combination with a vehicle, of a boom mounted on the vehicle so as to project therefrom, a rotary wheel mounted on the outer end of said boom so as to revolve about an axis transverse to the boom, said wheel comprising radial trough-shaped buckets, and means for rotating said wheel.

10. In combination, a vehicle, a swinging boom mounted on the vehicle and projecting beyond the same, a snow remover on the outer end of the boom a conveyor on the vehicle adj acent to the pivotal axis of the boom, and means extending from the remover to a point near the conveyor for guiding snow from the remover to the conveyor.

l1. The combination with a vehicle, of a boom projecting from the vehicle and mounted so as to be capable of swinging, a rotary snow collector a't the outer end of the boom having snow inlets on both sides of and at the end of theboom and adapted to discharge the snow tangentially, means for rapidly revolving said collector, and means for controlling the direction offlow of the snow discharged by the collector.

12. The combination with a snow plow, of rotarymeans for collecting snow and discharging itat a high velocity, means associated with the collector to control the direction in which the discharged stream of snow lQWs `and remove it from the path of the Sii plow, and means for moving collector and controlling means across the front of said snow plow. v

13. The combination with a snow plow, of rota means :for collecting snow and dischargmgrit at a hi h velocity, means associated wlth the co lector to control the direction in which the discharged stream of snow flows, and means for moving collector and controlling means across the front of said snow plow from one side of the plow to the other and Jfrom a position near the'ground to an idle sition high above the ground.

14. T e combination with a snow plow, of a boom, a rotary snow collector at one end ol the boom, means for pivotally supporting the other end of the boom, the length of the boom and the position of the pivotal support being such that the boom may be swung to position the collector in front of the plow or i at either side of the plow, means for rotating the said collector, and means associated with the collectorY for causing the snow entering tle latter to be removed from the path ot the ow. p 15. The combination with a vehicle, of a boom mounted-on thevehicle so as toY project therefrom and be capable of swinging up and down and sidewise, rotary means at the outer end of said boom for collecting snow and discharging it by centrifugal force, and a deector mounted on the boom adjacent to the peri hery of said rotary means in position to gui e the stream of snow discharged by said means.

1G. The combination with a vehicle, ot boom mounted on the vehicle so as to project therefrom and be capable of swinging up and down and sidewise, rotary means at the outer end of said boom for collecting snow and discharging it by centrifugal force, and a deflector mounted on the boom ad jacent to the periphery of said rotary means in position to uide the stream of snow discharged by sai meanathe outer part oi? the deilector being movable with respect to the boom thereby to permit the direction of the stream of discharged snow to be varied.

17. The combination with a vehicle, of a boom mounted on the vehicle so as to project therefrom, the outer end of the boom being in the form of two lon separated parallel beams, a rotatable sha extending transversely of the boom at the outer end, a series of radial trough-sha said shaft and rotatab e in the space between said beams and means for rotating said shaft.

18. The combination with a vehicle, of a remover mounted to project beyond the same and comprising a wheel having troughshaped radial snow separating elements and means at the periphery of the wheel for receiving the snow dischar ed from the wheel, means for rotating the w eel, and means for moving the remover bodily transversely of the vehicle, and also in the vertical direction.

19. The combination with Aa vehic1e,of a member mounted so as to be capable of swinging laterally thereon and projected therefrom, a wheel at the outer end of said member for collecting snow and compacting the same, a deector mounted adjacent to the periphery of the wheel in position to guide the snow discharged by the wheel, and means for driving said wheel.

20. The combination with a vehicle, of a member projecting from the vehicle and mounted so as to be capable of swinging laterallyand in the vertical direction, means at the outer end of said member or collecting snow and discharging it by centrifugal force, and means associated with the aforesaid collecting Ymeans to control the direction in which the snow is discharged therefrom.

testimony whereol sign this speciioation.,

' ARTHUR B. WEBB.

d buckets fixed to tot ttt 

